The US Navy has confirmed the identity of a World War II submarine wreck discovered off the coast of Matsuwa Island in the Kuril Islands, bringing closure to a mystery that has endured for more than eight decades.

The wreck has been identified as USS Herring (SS-233), a Gato-class submarine lost on 1 June 1944 during combat operations against Japanese forces in the northern Pacific. All 83 crew members aboard were lost.

The remains of the USCG Cutter Tampa have been located off the coast of Cornwall, more than a century after the vessel was sunk during World War I.

The cutter was lost in September 1918 after being torpedoed by a German U-boat while escorting a convoy in the Bristol Channel. All 131 crew members on board were killed, making it the deadliest loss in US Coast Guard history.

A new scientific study has revealed that World War II ammunition dumps on the seabed—long regarded solely as hazardous legacy sites—also support surprisingly rich marine biodiversity. 

The findings suggest that, in addition to posing management and safety concerns, these munitions fields may now function as unintentional artificial reefs hosting complex ecological communities.

After more than a century of mystery, technical divers from the community-led initiative, ProjectXplore, have conclusively identified the wreck of HMS Bayano, a First World War armed merchant cruiser sunk by the German submarine U-27 on 11 March 1915. The 126-metre vessel now rests at a depth of 106 metres in the North Channel, between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

After over a century of searching, the wreck of HMS Nottingham, a British First World War light cruiser, has been located and positively identified in the North Sea. The discovery was made by an international team of technical divers from ProjectXplore, bringing closure to a long-standing naval mystery and commemorating a vessel lost during a pivotal moment in naval history.

From 1 November 2025, Scotland’s underwater heritage gains new protections: the shipwrecks of Scapa Flow and the 1745 wreck of the Swedish East Indiaman Queen of Sweden are now designated Historic Marine Protected Areas. The move ensures these powerful symbols of maritime history remain preserved—and accessible—while defended against disturbance.

On 17 December 1917, USS F-1 collided with its sister ship, USS F-3, off the coast of San Diego during a training exercise in dense fog. The impact caused the F-1 to sink within ten seconds, resulting in the loss of 19 crew members. A mere five sailors survived the incident. The submarine now rests approximately 1,300ft (~396m) beneath the Pacific Ocean.

A team of researchers has successfully identified the wreck of HMS Stephen Furness, a WWI armed steamer, off the coast of the Isle of Man. Sunk by a German U-boat in 1917, the vessel has remained an enduring mystery, with the wreck recently pinpointed as part of Bangor University's “Towards a National Collection” project.